My very first encounter with a smart vending machine (that used weight-sensing or RFID technology) was back in 2019 in Singapore Polytechnic. People who downloaded an app at that time got $5 in credits to spend at the “AI Kiosk” that you see in the picture above. And when you refer a friend, you get an additional $5. Yup, it was an incredibly tempting offer, especially for the students. With that $5 (or more), one could purchase drinks, snacks, candy, etc. Interestingly, from 2019 till today, I’ve not actually seen many AI vending machines around Singapore, but have you? It was not until very recently when a pal invited me to his office (he’d landed a new job) that I got to see an AI vending machine up close again (but it wasn’t in operation yet). This time it looked like a mini version of a 7-eleven store and it held everything from lozenges to ketchup and even wine! No ‘free’ 5 bucks though! 
Why give out 5 dollars? One reason for that could be how the 2019 version required users to download an app (which will obviously be considered a hassle for many people) and you had to scan a QR code on the door you wish to open before it’d be unlocked, and payment had to be settled via credit card (or perhaps debit cards would have worked too – but I cannot recall if that was indeed the case). It all seemed rather troublesome.
Now, it appears you can tap your credit card on the reader (and there’s a hold on your credit card for a specified amount, say, $10), you take whatever you want from the machine, and you’re billed for your purchase immediately. Less hassle, no free $5!
What do the companies say is the edge that AI vending machines have over traditional ones?
- Can stock just about any product e.g. egg cartons, bottles of wine, fresh fruit and vegetables
- Fully cashless
- Products don’t get “stuck” like in traditional vending machines
- Can return product to the shelf if you change your mind
- Discount coupons can be applied at checkout (*some non-AI vending machines allow for this too)
Because they work on a fully cashless payment system, AI vending machines are being touted as the best for use during a pandemic. But are they, really? And what are the possible drawbacks of using AI vending machines instead of the traditional ones?
#1: MORE touchpoints because they were designed to let customers “TOUCH and FEEL” products before purchasing them
And it’s precisely because AI vending machines allow customers to open the door(s) and touch, feel and relocate products that makes them highly unsuitable during a pandemic.
Customers may decide to touch more than one item for a variety of reasons, e.g. trying to find the coldest can of Coca-Cola or being indecisive and picking up one item after another and then changing his/her mind and putting the items back.
Someone who decides to touch every single can of Coke to find the one which is the coldest inevitably leaves more than just fingerprints on everything he has touched. And you might be putting your lips to that (compromised) can of Coke.
As it is, we’re depending on vending machine operators to ensure staff monitor their health status and take added precautions when carrying out their duties. On 18 May 2021, it was even reported that one of the unlinked community cases was “a 40-year-old Singaporean man who works as a vending machine loader at Warburg as well as a food delivery rider for Deliveroo and Grab.” (Article here: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/covid-19-new-community-cases-unlinked-clusters-may-18-14831160)
On top of operators handling the items sold in vending machines, do we really want to allow all customers to touch them as well?
For this simple reason, I do not think that AI vending machines have a particular edge over traditional vending machines during a pandemic. During normal times, perhaps. But not during a health crisis like this COVID-19 one.
#2: Higher electricity costs as customers can open the doors and keep them open while they decide what to get
If you’ve ever gone into a convenience store such as a 7-eleven just to enjoy the air-conditioning on a hot day, and also to open the door to one of the chillers just to get a blast of cool air (without actually wanting to buy anything), you’ll know what I mean. 
On campuses, for instance, what’s to stop sweaty students from opening the door to an AI vending machine without actually intending to buy anything? (And what happens when perspiration is accidentally flicked or dripped onto the products?)
The better the sales at any particular location, the more power the AI vending machine will consume as the doors are constantly being opened and the cooling system has to work extra hard. Of course, this will not be an issue if the items sold don’t have to be kept chilled, e.g. potato chips, candy, etc.
#3: May require as much, if not more time to service
When customers are allowed to return an item to any shelf, it means staff from the vending machine company need to spend more time reorganizing them. And since the display can end up looking a little messy after some time (as staff aren’t stationed nearby to rearrange items, wipe up spills, etc), such machines may not be as suitable for places like hotel lobbies, condominiums, and malls, where there’s a supposed ‘image’ to uphold. For office environments, however, people might be less likely to create messes when they have colleagues nearby. Also, there probably won’t be any children.
And because customers are allowed to touch anything within the machine, it means more time must be spent sanitising all the touchpoints inside and out.
#4: The price of going fully cashless
There are transaction costs involved with cashless payments and these are inevitably passed on to the consumer.
Also, what about the group of customers who feel excluded because they don’t have credit cards to facilitate such transactions?
Say, you have an AI vending machine in your condominium. It might be fancy and cool for you ‘cos you have your Apple watch and your credit cards, etc. But what about young children and domestic helpers who would ordinarily make their purchase with cash but now cannot do so because the vending machine has become a fully cashless one?
For drinks and snacks, I’d think a traditional vending machine would be more suitable in most places. AI vending machines would be really useful for selling high-end products e.g. premium frozen meals, frozen meat, or bottles of wine, for instance. No need to worry about pricey items not getting dispensed, or getting stuck along the way.
#5: It might be easy to ‘game the system’
The keyword here is “might”. I’m wondering if it would be possible to get a drink from the AI vending machine, open and take a sip from it, and then put it back into the machine and not have it charged to one’s credit card. What do you think? Since the manufacturers claim you can ‘change your mind’ and put items back into the machine, I would like to ask them if the AI system is smart enough to detect any changes in the product that’s returned to the shelves.
If there’s a tray of, say, 10 eggs and you only need one egg for your instant noodles, and you open the tray and take out one egg… will the system know this? And what happens then? You get charged for the entire tray because “once opened, considered sold”? Similarly, if you open a bag of chips in the machine and take out one chip to ‘sample’, what happens next?
I’m asking these questions because I have actually seen open bottles of a cultured milk drink at a certain very popular shopping complex in Little India. There had been people who took the bottles, opened them, took a few mouthfuls and left the bottles all over the store.
Also, if I have a bottle of Coke in my bag and it’s no longer cold because I’ve gone out for a walk, and I chance upon an AI vending machine… would it be possible to switch my lukewarm bottle of Coke with the ice-cold one in the machine without being charged for it? I take the cold one out and ‘return’ the warm one into the machine = no charge, right?
~
Ultimately, I’d say I have many questions and reservations about AI vending machines and especially their usage during a pandemic. I’d love to chat with one of these manufacturers some time. Meanwhile, go ahead and read about the interviews I’ve done with some folks who have interesting non-AI vending machines in Singapore: